Cannon Trail - recommendations?

[dreamshark]

R and I would like to ride the Cannon Trail (Cannon Falls to Redwing or vice versa), stay in a B&B overnight and then ride back. Has anyone got any recommendations for a good place to stay? Which direction is best to ride? Places to park cars overnight?

Alternatively, would anybody like to join us? Weeknights are cheaper and undoubtedly less crowded. Ideally, we'd like to stay over a Sunday night, but I could take two days off and do it in the middle of the week. Probably about mid-May, or whenever we both feel strong enough to ride 20 miles at a time. R is just getting going on biking for the year.

Comments

[mmagidow.livejournal.com]

Sorry we can't join you. Whatever you do, don't stay in Wabasha at the Anderson House, if you are sensitive to aromas. I was driven out by the cats, (yes they offer cats to their patrons), the stinky disinfectant spray, and the aroma spritzers in the hallway. Almost had an asthma attack.

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

Yuck. Well, that's definitely a niche audience, and it's not my niche.

That's not the inn where you were snowed in, was it?

[galacticvoyeur.livejournal.com]

I would think that Cannon Falls --> Redwing would be the easiest way to go. Rivers, um, flow downhill, right? I've never actually been down there, so I'm just sayin' is all...

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

Well, yeah, but you have to ride back the other way the next day. In some ways it might be easier to save the slightlyl downhill ride for the second day, but it's only a drop of 115 feet in 20 miles, so I don't think it matters much. It's more a question of where's the best place to leave your car overnight and where's the best place to stay overnight.

I'd come

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

I've ridden this trail a couple of times, and you can't really tell that one end is higher than the other. The St. James Hotel (where Barb got married) is nice in Red Wing. There's more choices in Red Wing than Cannon Falls. I'm not sure about places to stay other than the St. James, though I have lots of MN tourist info (and the net, of course.)

The 18th and 19th is the only weekend in May when I could go, and I want to be home by late afternoon on the 19th.

K.

Re: I'd come

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

We were thinking of May 20-21, staying over Sunday night. The idea is to avoid the weekend nights (Fri and Sat) for a variety of reasons (expense, availability, Richard's game parties).

We notice that Red Wing has a lot of B&Bs, at least one of which gives a 50% discount for MPR members (which we are).

Re: I'd come

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

That's a good time to go, but I can't do it then. Maybe the midweek option? Or, these are the nights in May I could do this: 7th, 8th, 9th, 13th, 14th, 18th, 19th.

K.

Re: I'd come

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

May 13-14 might work (unless all the B&B's fill up for Mother's Day). Let's shoot for that, dependent on weather. Unfortunately, since I am unwilling to bike 20 miles in a pouring rain, I would want to wait until the week before to make reservations. Take an online look at Candlelight Inn.

Re: I'd come

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

No, you want to wait until the week before to *cancel* the reservation. Candelight Inn looks nice.

K.

Re: I'd come

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

They require cancellation 2 weeks in advance, at least if you expect a full refund. Here's the policy in full:

Room charges are refundable if cancellation is received 14 days or more prior to arrival. For groups reserving 3 or more rooms, the cancellation time is 30 days. Room charges are refundable with less than 14 days notice if we can rent the room for the length of your stay. If we cannot re-rent the room, we will issue a gift certificate good for a future stay.